In the field of computers and computer peripheral devices, there is an ongoing trend towards miniaturization for convenience and portability. In certain cases, memory devices have been reduced to “pocket size”, meaning that they can literally be carried in a user's pocket in the same manner as a wallet or set of keys.
One family of memory devices that are of particular interest, and in which context the present invention will be described herein, are known as “USB memory devices”, which may include USB flash disks or USB flash drives. For example, one product includes a pen-type flash memory device having a USB connector plug that can be connected to a USB port of a standard computer. In such devices, the USB plug connector is protected by a removable cover when not in use.
FIGS. 16 and 17 are exploded perspective and perspective views, respectively, showing a conventional pen-type USB flash drive device 50 including a housing 51 that encloses a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) 70 including a printed circuit board (PCB) 73, one or more integrated circuit (IC) devices 74 mounted on PCB 73, and a plug connector 75 mounted on a front end of PCB 73. Housing 51 includes an upper housing portion 51-A and lower housing portion 51-B that are separately molded and then assembled using conventional methods such as ultrasonic joining and snap-couple connection. The joining process typically occurs at specific locations along the edges of the covers, and thus the joining is not continuous along the interface. A seam 54 is formed between upper housing portion 51-A and lower housing portion 51-B, and becomes the weakest point in the USB flash memory device due to mechanical movement at plug connector 75 during repeated inserting to and removing from an USB socket.
A problem with conventional pen-type peripheral devices that have a two-piece housing is that the two-piece housing must be assembled manually, which results in long production cycle time and high production costs. In addition, the two-piece housing may become partially separated, causing the plug connector to become loose and separated from the PCBA/housing. For example, seam 54 (FIG. 17) is prone to break at the joining locations due to repeated insertion of pen-type USB flash drive device 50 into and removal from a USB socket of a host system, thus separating the covers and resulting in failure.
What is needed is method for producing pen-type portable computer peripheral devices, such as USB memory devices, which overcomes the problems associated with conventional structures.